Israel is Amazing
Jameel posted an incredible story of kindness at the Muqata.
By: Ezzie |
Sunday, January 28, 2007 at 1/28/2007 12:41:00 AM | | 
FREE Kindness Cards and Posters
A nice freebie for those who want to make kindness a bigger part of their lives:
Free cards, posters and more...you can print out the cards or they will send them to you!
By: Kashrut News |
Thursday, January 25, 2007 at 1/25/2007 02:48:00 PM | |
Kindness from "Confusion Reigns"
Debbie over at Confusion Reigns posted a really nice story of kindness on her subway ride home. Take a look!
By: Shoshana |
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 1/24/2007 03:47:00 PM | |
Tea and Honey
I woke up not feeling very well this morning. My stomach is a bit upset and I'm just generally not myself. I came in to work anyway, because it's rare that anything keeps me home (I get bored). I was telling my very kind co-worker that I didn't feel well. So she went to the store, and bought me feel-good tea and honey, and bought the milk that I am usually responsible for getting. She takes really good care of everyone, true kindness.
The Kindness of Dinner
Last night, I didn't have any plans but didn't feel like sitting at home bored. I contacted one of my friends and asked whether she wanted to have dinner together, be it out at a restaurant or cooking at home. She responded that she had a ton of food and I should come on over. I got there, and she did, indeed have a TON of food. She offered me two kinds of chicken, leftover Chinese food, side dishes and salad. We had a feast! She's the kind of person that takes amazing care of people, remembering what they like and always putting others first. She is one of the greatest hosts ever, and it's really amazing how she manages to make you feel like you are doing her a favor by letting her take care of you. I left with a very full stomach, great conversation ringing in my head and no boredom.
By: Shoshana |
Thursday, January 18, 2007 at 1/18/2007 10:05:00 AM | |
Accidental Kindness
This afternoon I witnessed the kindness of strangers in a rather unfortunate situation.
I was also reminded me of the frailty of human life and how precious it is.
I had just got into my car, rolled down the window because it was so hot and turned on the ignition. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed something odd about fifteen metres up the road. I looked again to make sure I wasn't seeing things. A man had been hit by a car, I saw him crumple to the ground. I couldn't tell you who or what car hit him as I was a bit far away, although I did notice people start to pull over. I whipped out my phone and called Hatzolah as I jumped out of my car to go and see if anyone else had called emergency. A number of people had stopped and were assisting the man, checking to see if he was conscious or if he could be moved off the road. He could not be moved so others who had stopped when they saw the accident directed traffic, found a box to shade the man from the hot sun.
It took a few minutes until the police and emergency services arrived and during that time, there were a few people talking to the injured man to keep his spirits up (he was conscious) and ensured that the traffic didn't get in the way. Another passerby on her evening walk commented to me that it was really nice that people had actually stopped to help. Which it was.
I waited around because I couldn't get my car out (the traffic had backed up) and I was also a little shaken at having witnessed that. I don't know if the man was ok (he was conscious and with good movement in his legs) but the medics used extreme care to move him to the ambulance. The strangers that stopped to help do deserve a thank you, as do the paramedics from Hatzolah who all took time out to help with this accident. This was definitely a reminder to drive safely, be aware of pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles as well as to be careful when walking, crossing roads and driveways.
Obviously an accident is not something we want to happen but if it ever does, it is nice to know that there are kind strangers out there who take out the time to stop and help and wonderful volunteers, like Hatzolah, there for you in an emergency.
By: Sarah Likes Green |
Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 1/11/2007 06:10:00 PM | |
Morning of Kindness
This morning, on my way to work, I didn't realize that there was a large hole in the bag I was carrying my lunch in. I was riding the bus when suddenly, I heard a "plunk" and realized that my apple had fallen out of my bag and fallen to the floor of the bus and rolled forward. I figured that was the end of my apple, that I would never see it again, lost amidst all the passengers on the bus. But the guy sitting in front of me found it for me, and gave it back to me. I also hadn't realized that my yogurt had fallen out of my bag until I was about to get off the bus and the guy sitting across from me saw it and made sure I got it before leaving the bus. Yay! Now I have lunch.
I got to work, and saw that laying on my desk was a vegetarian cookbook. I had been talking to one of my co-workers yesterday about how I wanted some new vegetarian recipes since I am very into meat. She found the cookbook at home and brought it to work for me to borrow.
All these little things made my morning much nicer :)
By: Shoshana |
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 1/10/2007 08:06:00 AM | |
Subway Wipe
This morning was a rainy one here in NYC, and that often translates into people bringing water with them onto the buses and trains, making the floor a dirty wet mess. Sometimes, seats somehow end up a little wet as well, which means that there are even more people standing, hanging on for dear life as they try not to slip and slide down the aisle.
But there were two really nice touches to this morning's commute. When the bus was a bit quiet, even with all the hustling and bustling, everyone suddenly heard a little girl's voice start singing. She was probably about three years old, sitting there with her dirty blonde curls, and she started singing beautifully: "You are my sunshine/My only sunshine/You make me happy!/When skys are gray..." Most of the bus couldn't help but smile, no matter what time of morning or how wet they were.
A few minutes later, I walked into the front of the second car on the F train to Manhattan. I noticed two empty seats at the front of the car, and wondered why the man standing right next to them wasn't sitting, but assumed he just preferred to lean against the side. As I got closer, I realized that the seats had small puddles in them, which is why people weren't sitting there. Another person was about to head for the seats when I warned them, as well.
At the next stop, an older man got on, wearing a Giants' jacket. (Poor guy.) He noticed an older woman who was forced to stand as well, so he took out a couple of Dunkin Donuts napkins that he happened to have on him, wiped the seats down completely, and offered one to the lady - remaining standing himself so she wouldn't feel squashed. It was such a nice thing to see, especially on the NYC subways where people are so often intent on ignoring one another. She took the seat and was able to rest her weary legs for the rest of her ride.
By: Ezzie |
Monday, January 08, 2007 at 1/08/2007 07:40:00 PM | |
P-Life Posts About Kindness
Passionate Life recently posted about kindness he found post-breakup. Go check it out.
Kindness in a Lobby
Earlier today I was waiting for a friend (AW) in my office building's lobby. As she was heading toward me, AW saw the man walking in front of her unknowingly drop a piece of paper, which fluttered to the floor a few feet away. AW snatched up the paper, and rushed after him through the lobby to return his property. She caught the guy just as he was about to enter the elevator bank. Though it was a small kindness, this is the type of thing that always brightens my day.
From JT
By: Shoshana |
Thursday, January 04, 2007 at 1/04/2007 04:33:00 PM | |
We're on Jrants!
Thanks to the amazing kindness of Aryeh, who runs numerous sites to benefit the Jewish community, we have been added to Jrants. Now everyone will be able to see when there is a new post up. Thanks Aryeh!
I also want to take a minute to thank two people who have put some effort into Kindness Happens - Chaim from Life of Rubin lent his expertise to making our template very pretty, and Sarah for making the Kindness Blog button that you can add to your sidebar. Thanks Chaim and Sarah for your time and help! Very kind of you :)
Hero
From Aidel Maidel, this article from the NY Times about a man who risked his own life for someone else. Thanks AM!
By: Shoshana |
Wednesday, January 03, 2007 at 1/03/2007 08:32:00 AM | |
Little Things Count, Too
Due to the rush that occured when we moved into our apartment, our bedroom was never completely painted. Our superintendent plans on doing so this week - as long as the bedroom furniture were moved out of the way.
Serach called friends of ours who got married recently to see if the husband would mind coming by for a few minutes to help - no problem, even though it's his last day off for a while. He came over, we figured out exactly how we wanted to move the stuff, we did, and that was it.
Yes, that's the end of the story. Little things count, too! Plus, what may (or may not) have been a small favor from him was a huge deal for us - we can finally get it painted, he already volunteered to come back and help move the pieces back, and then we can get our carpets cleaned [something our landlord promised us to do when we moved in], which would give Elianna much more space to crawl around on. It would also help us finally get our apartment situated the way we want it, without stuff lying all over and blocking the floor.
The little acts of kindness we do can have exponentially greater impacts.
By: Ezzie |
Monday, January 01, 2007 at 1/01/2007 07:56:00 PM | |